It looks as though we haven't seen the last of the notebooks
battery recalls -- not by a long shot. So far in the past two months, we've
seen recalls from Dell,
Apple, Toshiba,
IBM/Lenovo and Matsushita/Panasonic.
It now looks as though Sony has set up the Global Replacement Program for its defective batteries used in notebook computers.

The company outlined its plan for a Global Replacement
Program for its notebook batteries and again restated the cause of the battery
pack failures. From Sony's press
release:

Sony Corporation will
initiate a global replacement program for certain battery packs that utilize
Sony-manufactured lithium ion cells used by notebook computer manufacturers in
order to address concern related to recent over-heating incidents. Sony always
strives to deliver the highest level of satisfaction to its customers and all
consumers. We believe that this program is in the best interest of both our
customers and all consumers. Sony is discussing this plan with the US Consumer
Product Safety Commission and will coordinate with other government authorities
as required. We will announce details of the program in the near future.

Companies like Dell and Apple are taking a hit from
customers over the recall even though they didn't actually manufacture the
batteries. Sony, which is already fighting off bad press over its PlayStation 3
and Blu-ray now has yet another fiasco on its hands and is ultimate damage
control mode. As for customers, they're left to use faulty batteries as they
wait to receive replacement batteries from their notebook manufacturers -- and some
airlines are throwing their weight around by banning certain notebooks
with Sony-produced batteries. It's a tough situation for all parties
involved, but hopefully within the next few this whole matter will be behind
us.

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This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Little lines like promising millions of people worldwide something you know isnt probably possible but hoping miracles might happen, then when they dont first denying you were wrong, then finally spinning the truth better than any reporter and making out that a half size release - 12 plus months late (in the best case) to two countires out of the entire world is the best thing since sliced bread? That is quite rightly the PS3 fiasco and it is a fiasco in every dictionary sense of the word. The fact the product isnt released yet has no baring on the word useage or its aptness to this situation and history. Since the PS3 scenario is so largely based on the even worse situation for Sony that has to date been Blu-Ray, then the same applies there with the only saving grace being they never promised as much in the first place - so they havent let their prospective customers down so badly, and have finally got both product and media to market; no worries if neither are quite holding up to direct comparrison to the competition quite as awesomely as Sony promised they would - you see part of the true value of a real fiasco is that if you run the damn thing long enough nobody remembers half the bullsh!t you said in the past. If you want to throw a spin spanner at the media - first be aware some people know that Sony owns the entire bloody workshop.